curandera with her
medicinal herbs and
ability to fly
as feathered owl
into sky, bless
me ultima, chicano
spiritual soul power
https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-06-30/rudolfo-anaya-dead
Category: Poetry
Dog Wisdom
some nights it
seems that our
dog ingrid has
it all figured
out, she understands
love and closeness
when to drink
water, and when
to sleep, she
doesn’t stay up
late on her
phone wondering about
the world, no
she lives in
minutes of joy
running, licking, waiting
for someone to
drop food on
the floor, this
has been said
before, but always
good to remember
that we are
animals too, and
it can all
be much more
simple, if we
let it be
End of Camping
one night i sat
up trying to count
tent time, evenings in
lean-tos, sleeping bags
on dew covered earth
after backpacking, hiking, driving
away from city streets
to forest trees, mountains
summer storms, coastal sunrises
and there were dozens
maybe two hundred of
these star-filled moon
skies with campfire sparked
memories of younger days
when injured vertebrae were
stronger and slumber more
easily arrived, now nearing
50, i feel the chapter’s
end coming, but a story
written in god’s nature
will always dwell within
Polo Shirt
everyone wanted that
little man swinging
a mallet on
button-down cotton
symbol of money
and conformity, belonging
to the great
american dream, success
on our chest
was everything in
yuppie popped collar
middle school hallways
of my youth
before time passing
and truth telling
consumerism, that word
of excess and
education, realization that
things are just
things
Pet Goldfish
i suppose everyone
had a goldfish
from the pet
store or school
fair, glistening orange
in plastic bag
captured bit of
rippling nature, and
we tried to
keep it alive
with flakes and
water changes, but
after a few
months it died
and what did
we learn? how
to understand loss
that toilet flush
goodbye, what is
life? what is
death? it meant
nothing, and everything
Have You Noticed?
Have you noticed that the earth
is always turning, that shadows
really do move across grass,
stone, everything?
Have you noticed that nature’s
wind touches all of life,
caterpillars, green ivy leaves,
chipmunks, tree trunks?
Have you noticed the white
cloud canvas, sparrow silhouette
in springtime sky, chirping
and flirting with the sun?
Have you noticed the bees
with their stingers, moving
from flower to flower, not
thinking about us at all?
Have you noticed how fast
we move through our days,
from screen to screen, with
all the rest unseen?
The House of Love
This is a second poem by my Grandmother Ethel from her scrapbook.
Our Wisdom
I found this poem in my Grandmother’s scrapbook, I believe it is from the late 1920’s.
Harriet Tubman
what is it
to listen to
God, a voice
within that knows
right from wrong
freedom from slavery?
what if we
could all live
fearless in our
love for humanity
for the decency
of all people?
what if the
north star still
shines bright, if
only we be
not blind to
our inner truth?
what if we
are all Moses
wading in water
helping everyone across
to that dry
land of faith?
Rain
wet is all
and everything depends
on these drops
speaking to us
seeping into soil
down window panes
tickling the worms
in love with
this spring storm
we all are
surrounded by falling
sky, asking important
questions, do you
listen? are you
kind? do you
feed the earth?
Daniel W. Polk 